LOUISVILLE -- The city took an ambitious step forward Tuesday night on the future of Louisville's retail marijuana scene, passing a pair of measures that would open up more areas of the city for pot shops while keeping them at least 1,000 feet away from schools and playgrounds.

Marijuana stores in Louisville would be limited in size to 5,000 square feet and would be allowed to operate from 8 a.m. to midnight. There would be no hard cap on the number of stores that could open in the city, but Mayor Bob Muckle suggested that some sort of "cluster control" be put in place.

Cultivation facilities would not be allowed, but testing labs would. Whether Louisville should allow manufacturing facilities for edibles and other infused products got a mixed reaction Tuesday.

The council still needs to approve the ordinances on a second reading at its meeting Sept. 17 before they become effective.

"It's a much, much more open opportunity than we made for medical marijuana," the mayor said, referring to the less stringent buffer zones.

Louisville, unlike many neighboring cities and towns that have passed bans or moratoria on licensing new pot shops, has taken a relatively welcoming approach to the industry.

Voters in Colorado last November passed Amendment 64, which allows adults 21 and older to possess and consume small amounts of pot. The groundbreaking law envisions marijuana retail stores in the state where the drug can be sold but gives municipalities the right to ban them or regulate how, where and when they operate.

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Amendment 64 allows existing medical marijuana businesses to apply for retail marijuana licenses beginning Oct. 1 and begin operations on the first of the year. New businesses would have to wait until Oct. 1, 2014, to open. Louisville has two medical marijuana dispensaries, both in the Colony Square Shopping Center, that could convert to retail operations.

The debate Tuesday evening largely revolved around what the proper buffer should be between marijuana shops and schools and playgrounds in the city -- 1,000 feet or 500 feet. While liquor stores can locate no closer than 500 feet to schools, the federal government has made it plain -- through a series of warning letters sent to more than 20 dispensaries in Colorado last year -- that medical marijuana dispensaries should locate no closer than 1,000 feet from schools or risk being shut down.

Louisville Planning Director Troy Russ said the city staff gave the City Council the two buffer options so that it could evaluate the situation with the federal government's concerns in mind.

"We want to mirror as closely as City Council feels comfortable the liquor licensing rules," he said. "But we also have to be cautious to see how the federal government reacts."

He said that caution is still called for despite the Justice Department's announcement last week that it won't challenge laws in Colorado and Washington that legalize marijuana for adult use.

"One thousand feet keeps us out of that trouble area," Muckle said.

But Councilman Jay Keany was concerned that the city was being too restrictive about an industry that a large majority of city residents voted to legalize.

"I still question the 1,000-foot buffer -- I think that's more than is needed," Keany said.

Even so, a 1,000-foot buffer -- coupled with a no-separation requirement between pot shops -- would mean that there could be more retail stores in the city than there are dispensaries today. Russ said the city staff isn't looking to place a hard cap on the number of pot shops in town but is suggesting limiting the size of a retail marijuana shop to 5,000 square feet.

"We're letting the concentration of retail marijuana shops be dictated by the market," he said. "We're recommending limiting the size so we don't have a super store that makes Louisville a regional destination."

Shaun Gindi, owner of Compassionate Pain Management in Louisville, said the city is going about the drafting of its regulations "the right way." He said he hasn't yet decided whether he will convert his medical marijuana business license to a recreational license this fall.

Ideally, it would be nice to see the 500-foot restrictions in place for liquor stores applied to marijuana shops as well, he said, but there is the reality of potential federal enforcement.

"It should be regulated like alcohol, but let's not tempt the feds," Gindi said. "Let's kind of follow their cue and not mess with it -- we can always change it later."

Jeff Gard, a Boulder-based attorney who has worked with medical marijuana dispensaries, said he is encouraged by the rules being considered in Louisville.

"Louisville is opening it up, and I'm encouraged by that," Gard said. "It looks like with their medical marijuana dispensaries being able to be good citizens, their community is recognizing that marijuana businesses in general, if properly regulated, can be good neighbors."

One issue on which there was profound disagreement on the council Tuesday was whether to carve out downtown Louisville as a special marijuana-free district. Councilwoman Susan Loo said there is no doubt that downtown Louisville is a successful and highly recognized part of town, but she said it shouldn't be given any more consideration than any other neighborhood.

"All of this town is special to someone, and I think we ought to apply that buffer equitably," she said.

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